As you may have heard or not, AIM is shutdown on December 15th 2017 after 20 years.

While the help article simply mentions “You will still be able to use your @aim.com email address to send and receive email as usual.” and I can still login to my nafcomaim[at]aim.com account, I have noticed a change:

my aim email address’ inbox is also now a sub-folder of the inbox of my primary aol mail account nafcom[at]games.com

And it appears to be a problem that the @ sign is in the folder name. As soon as Opera Mail tries to login and fetch the folders, it simply freezes with “Not responding” and crashes on click.

Thanks to the extended and professional troubleshooting of long time Opera community member “burnout426”, the following workaround was found (make sure your account is using IMAP, NOT POP3 or else all emails will be lost!):

1) Disconnect your computer from the internet
2) Run Opera Mail
3) Go to preferences of the AOL account causing the crash
4) Disable “check automatically for new emails” and “include when checking for new emails manually”.
5) Close Opera Mail
6) Reconnect your computer to the internet
7) Run Opera Mail
8) Add your AOL email address as new IMAP account
9) Wait till all emails from inbox and sent (and possible other folders) have been fetched.
10) Done! Enjoy continue using Opera Mail! 🙂

Do you have the same problem like I have had with updating iCloud? The Apple Software Updater only offered me to download the setup file separately and install it manually but with no difference. I have always received the error ” the specified account already exists” and the installation aborted. Interestingly, this is not an iCloud specific problem but can happen to any Windows program but the problem is caused by registry error. Help and a method to fix this error, I found in The OpenOffice Forum. The problem is, iCloud cannot even be uninstalled due to the same error. However the solution is simple, use IOBit Uninstaller, it allows you to fully uninstall iCloud and remove all the remaining parts of iCloud afterwards, so that you can reinstall iCloud without running into this error ever again! 🙂

If you are like me, and looked for a replacement for the Pebble but don’t want to waste your money on a too expensive smartwatch, the Sony Smartwatch 3 comes at a price of about 100 € and will be updated to AndroidWear 2.0 later this year. But until then we have a problem, the AndroidWear app on iOS cannot find the smartwatch 3 . And firmware updating via Bluetooth fails and results in the smartwatch 3 rebooting and re-trying endlessly. Unfortunately Sony simply told me “it’s not possible” despite the web said it is. So here is how it is done and how I did it myself 🙂

Here is the feedback I sent to sony including the solution I worked out myself as theirs failed. Hope this helps you! “Since Pebble unfortunately closed, I was looking for a cheap replacement for my Pebble Time. I came up with Sony Smartwatch 3. Prior to my purchase, I did a research on the Internet whether this Smartwatch with Android Wear will work on the iPhone. My search in the Google revealed entries in the Sony forum of users the said since June 2016, the Sony Smartwatch 3 is supported in Android Wear 3 for iOS. Unfortunately, the Android Wear app and the Sony Smartwatch 3 could not find each other. I thought to myself, I try the support, because you know surely what is more than if I have to “Google” to find a solution. Well, the lady unfortunately did not know there is Android Wear for iOS at all. Est told her she researched times and calls me back Monday, but then decided differently and has “held with a colleague consultation”. The answer was: “No is not going” When I then posed, if perhaps not simply the software on the Smartwatch is too old and whether one could not update via the PC, I received the answer: “No, via USB via the PC does not update”. And again wrong. See in your own forum: Https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/SmartWatch-3/Smart-watch-3-frozen-on-the-downloading-screen/td-p/970106 “You have to download and install Sony PC companion in your PC. Then try to run a software update for your watch. In the Sony PC Companion try the following: Support Zone (click on start)> Software update (click on start)> the software prepares the update> select SmartWatch 3 from the list (click next)> here comes the tricky part: 1. Turn off the smartwatch3 2. (Take it off the wristband for easy access) 3. Connect the USB to the computer (do not connect the micro USB to the smartwatch3 yet) 4. Hold the power button until you get an image of someone connecting the USB to the watch. When this image is connected to the USB to the watch. (When I did it, it was different. 5. After you do step 4 above your computer will recognize your smartwatch and starts the software update. ” Thanks to the “PC Companion” for Windows, I was able to update the Smartwatch and successfully pair with Android Wear on the iPhone and can now use it wonderfully 🙂 Thank God, I am powerful to English and have not simply the statement “in the forum can stand a lot” so. From a purely logical point of view I was not clear why it should work with many other users and only with me not.”

What is that when even your grandmother rings you up and is worried, because her daughter’s phone is always busy the whole day?

Right, it is The Pre-Disaster!

When and how does a pre-disaster happen?

Simple, you offer in a country in half a dozen cities internet & phone by cable tv. So, to be more congret; You offer what people in other countries have since ages!

Then you make it to an ok price and in an area no normal DSL internet is possible?

What happens? Right, a boom of costumers that sign up to the service!

What Bulgaria, The Netherlands, USA, Canada, UK and a few others have since ages, finally comes also to us!

Now, what happens if you cannot ring up your mother anylonger because of overloaded service? Right, you don’t bother 😛

So, imagine this, that you are not catchable by phone from morning till night, that adds up pretty much like 15 hours in a row hearing a “busy” sign when you try to ring somebody up.

Hehehe, I knew why I will keep my ex-monopoly phone company, 1st it’s cheaper to call to abroad, because you can use CallByCall phone companies and 2nd, Who would be so insane to pay for a call 1 USD per minute if you can do the same call for 0.04 USD per minute?

Now that my mother is barely catchable and the cable tv provider says “We are about to upgrade soon, but sorry that we can’t say exactly when!”

Ok ok, didn’t I mention DSL is technically not possible in that area to which I am about to move in February? Right, I will have to use that cable tv provider and there is only one there! I hope my internet will work better than the internet of my mother!

I get twice as much speed than now for the same price, but still, hey hey, I want a stable internet connection! I pay for it!

I only can hope all will work out fine. Right now I am scared and I receive calls from an annoyed mother!

Father!

Technorati Tags: disaster, phone

-“Oh ok, Nafcom loves notepad, but why?”

Because it doesn’t need an internet connection running

-“Oh yeah?!”

Yeah!!!

Trend researchers say, that in 5-10 years, over 90% of the world’s population will have an internet access and that receiving emails and checking your email inbox each morning will be as common as doing that with your letter- or P.O. Box.

Granted I am not 90% of the world’s population (but hey, wasn’t there that nice saying in English; “You can be on person on the whole world but also a whole world to one person”?! Heheh!).

Ok errr… So the first thing I do each morning is not heeding towards the bathroom, Noooo nooo! The first I do is switch on my PC, waiting that 240.37 1/2 seconds till it’s booted up (including my windows), connect to the internet, open M2 and listen to that “Incoming Mail!” mail sound, taken from ICQ Pro 2003b and check how much spam I got.

But not today, Noooo nooo! Today, I receive: “Error: domain or password invalid”. Aha! Then I remember… Uh wasn’t that I cancelled my DSL for February, 2005? (because I move and there in the new city I get CABLE internet, hauahauhauhauha!). Maybe they confused January with February?

(really! I have heard there are people who cannot count till 11 1/2!).

So I ring up the costumer support (by the way… A call to Brazil is cheaper than calling the costumer support!).

So after many tones, I hear a voice: “Good morning, how may I insure you?”, or something.

“Oh hey, yup it’s me here. You know, I have sent out a cancelling letter on December, 14th, 2004. Maybe you have confused February with January. Do you need help?”

A sympathic laugh on the other side of the line: “No, there is an error, people cannot log in since yesterday, infact nobody can!”.

And then, me: “Ah ok ok, do you know yet how long the problem is and what it takes?”

Her reply: “No, unfortunately not, I don’t know, I can’t tell!”.

Now that is groovy! They have no idea what the problem is or how long I won’t be without my email! I had a serious break this morning in my “same procedure as every day!” routine and they even cannot tell, wether the same hell happens again tomorrow?!

(My grandmother at my place would have asked: “Oh ok, and now a very very stupid question; What is the problem?”).

Now I feel like the Brazilians on my ICQ Contact List! Folks, I Feel With You!

Same thing with cancellation; Instead of sending a cancel confirmation, I found the day before yesterday a promotion letter: “Now get more service for your DSL, more features! APPLY NOW!!!!!!!!”.

Father, what a crap.

Was a nice thing, asking Mrs. DSL Costumer Service how that goes (I have never had to cancel my DSL, yet!). She informed me, that I get that letter shortly before it gets switched off! Aha! Ok!

Now considering that in my new flat, DSL is technically not possible, it’s rather silly to send me promotion to get a better DSL connection! I am going to move to one of the half dozen countries, where you can get cable internet!

Well, a couple of month ago, my phone line broke. Yes, on the phone service provider’s site, the cable broke! Before that, I had a lot of glitches (cracks!).

You know, I did those phone calls to abroad. and when somebody on the other side said: “The connection is bad”. – “Oh, that’s not Ghana’s fault, it’s an error over here!”

A similar thing with mobile phone provider, they don’t tell you if there is a problem, they just switch you off.

And their costumer service hotline wants 48 cents per minute! For this, I can do 2 calls to Ghana and 4 to Brazil! So, I better did emailing them, that is cheaper, and it helped!

Father, what do I love this country! I am feeling like in a country with no propper phone & internet services!

PS: Now as of 2 PM, it works again, hooray! =)

Technorati Tags: bad internet, notepad

Recently, I was interviewed by  German TV (Heute+ in ZDF) to talk about retro gaming and play on the NES Classic mini videogame console!

Here the video from Twitter!:

3D-Computerspiele kann jeder, jetzt übernehmen wieder #SuperMario und #PacMan. Aber bitte in schlechter Auflösung. What? @Scene_World pic.twitter.com/QqsYTpB6uq

— ZDF heuteplus (@heuteplus) November 11, 2016

There was also a further more detailed article published along with it! (German original / google translated to English)

Also the German commercial PC magazine PC Games released a summay of this interview on their homepage! (German Original / google translated to English)

Furthermore I had the pleasure to interview Forrest S. Mozer who is the inventor of speech synthesis and speech recolonization via Skype video:

Enjoy it!

More interview videos, podcast shows, our diskmag and more can be found on our homepage:

www.sceneworld.org

I love my

Sony Vaio VGN-FW46M

For further details on how I have upgraded this already to in 2014, read part one of this story.

So what else I have done to this to pimp it even further?

-Well, I have tossed the 2ndary travel battery and the main battery as both died on the same day, with a bigger main battery with 6600 mAh instead of 4400 mAh.

-and I have removed the b/g/n wireless NIC with a Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260  PCI Express Half Mini Card

-The Samsung 840 Basic Series has been exchanged by a

Crucial SSD

First of all, there are 2 problems here. Installing a new NVIDIA driver will fail as the installing routine will give up with undefined errors.

Secondly, there are no official Windows 10 drivers for the ATI FireMV 2250

So here is the workaround for installing by benoith in the AMD Support Forums:

I had the same issue and found your thread while trying to fix it. I am not sure if you still need help, but I was able to get this running by manually downloading the windows 7/8 x64 package for the fireMV 2250. Installing the package didn’t work, so Instead I let it extract itself, then went in device manager, found the device in it, right clicked on it, then clicked update drivers…

Then chose the “browse my computer for…” and point to the folder where the drivers extracted (most likely c:ati******)

This worked like a charm for me.

The cool thing of having an AMD graphics card as a primary card and a nVidia as a secondary card is, that the setup of the AMD drivers do not give a damn if a 2nd card is installed.

While it is a problem if NVidia is your primary card.
So here is how to workaround the issue in the NVIDIA drivers. I am installing GameReady Drivers from the GeForce Experience application on Windows 10 x64.
Posted by  AntiRivet on Reddit:

 If you’re still attempting to install, don’t use Express. Use Custom and make sure you click “Clean Install”. I deselected all of the 3D stuff as well, since I don’t use it, but your mileage may vary. Also of note, I disabled my second monitor/TV temporarily.

This should fix all your problems and allow you to update to the latest GameReady drivers without removing your secondary ATI / AMD graphics card.

The whole world upgrades to Windows 10 since the recent weeks. So what are the problems I had stumped into and how I have solved them? Not a lot issues I have to admit, any all of them found a solution 🙂

I have had 1 Intel tablet, 2 Laptops and 1 Desktop PC to upgrade.

I have started with the We Tab WiFi + 3G that was upgraded to 2 GB of RAM and a 120 GB mSATA SSD by KingFast.It had Windows 8.1 32bit installed.

Things were straight forward here, it upgraded and installed all drivers except graphics card, I simply went to the Device Manager and clicked “update driver” –> Search for better driver and it downloaded one and installed it. Really easy! In Windows 10, the device manager and Windows Update are your friends, really one of the few times, where a good and well working drivers was downloaded once triggered by the user. Well done!

Next, I have updated Windows 8.1 64 bit on my Sony Vaio VGN-FW46M next. There was no driver related issue, whatsoever! Smooth and simply worked 🙂 Just keep in mind, that a shutdown means it does a hibernate and unfortunately the wireless network gets stuck and doesn’t come up until I restart it.And since I have a SSD and since after about 10 startups it learns how to do it the fastest way (Windows 10, not the SSD:) ) it’s just a matter of seconds anyway. So I am simply disabling it

Next laptop is my HP Compaq 6910p laptop, I run 32bit Windows 8.1 on it, my mum Windows 7 64bit on the same laptop. I have done heavy modifications to both laptops, so installation is different compared to the stock model without modifications. Also, the drivers for the touchpad are reacting different, 64bit versions work fine, tbe 32bit version however generates ghost clicks every couple of seconds, which renders Windows unusable. I found no 64bit driver that works, so solution was here to disable hibernatet as well!

Last one was my desktop PC. It runs on a ASUS M5A78L/USB3 and there have been no driver conflicts with it since the beginning, unlike I had with Windows 8/8.1!

Meanwhile Windows update, updated the driver to version 10.0.10240.16461 of August, 17th, 2015!.

The only problem was, Creative Labs didn’t release the Windows 10 drivers for my Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer until the middle of August, I was without a working driver, until I found the SB X-Fi Series Support Pack 3.5 but the options “headphone settings are activated automatically” and “auto-mute speakers” had to be enabled in the sound settings of the headphones tab. Luckily, in the meantime, the official drivers are released which is cook because I needed to set those settings each time I restarted or booted up my PC! It’s actually surprising that new drivers are released for this wonderful PCI card, as back in 2010 they told me the product is EOF and there are no fixed or new driver releases planned.

I am so glad that they have changed their mind, thank you, Creative Labs 🙂

All in all, this was way more trouble free than I expected, thank you Microsoft 🙂